Yeast-mixer.



PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

0. DAUM.

YEAST MIXER.

APPLICATION IILED APR.13. 1905.

CONRAD DAUM, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANA.

YEAST-MIXER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filcd April 13, 1905. Serial No. 255,416.

T0 all w7t0m it may concern;

, Be it known that I, CONRAD DAUM, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Scran ton, in the county of Lackawanna, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in YeasMixers, of which the following is a specification, refer ence being had therein to the accompanyng drawings.

This invention relates to a yeast-mixer, and particularly to a construction embodying movable buckets for thoroughly mixing and incorporating the yeast With the Wort preparatory to its use in a brewing or fermenting operation.

The invention has for an object to provide an improved construction and arrangement of a tank or casing containing buckets carried by rotatable arms disposed at an angle to each other andin difierent vertical planes extending across the tank.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention Will be hereinater set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims. V

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan With the cover removed; Fig. 2, a cross-section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail perspective of one pair of buckets and their supporting arms, and Fig. 4: a detail vertical section or the stuffingbox for the driving-shaft.

Like letters of reference referto like parts in the several figures of the drawingsl The letter A designates the casing or tank, Which may be of any desired construction or material, and preferably one formed of metal and composed of two parts bolted together by fianges at the middle of the tank, as shown by dotted fines at A in Fig. 1. Each of the end walls A of the tank is provided with suitable bearing or stu ffing boxes of any desired construction, but preferably formed as shown in Fig. 4, wherein a bearing B is disposed within the tank and has a boltingplate B bearing against the inner face of the end wall A while the bearing B is also pro vided With a portion B extending through said wall. Upon the outer face of the end Wall a plate B is located and provided With a sleeve B closely fitting the driving-shaft C and extended within the bearing B. Ti ese parts are secured together by any preferred arrangement of boltsfor instance, the bolt B, as shown, which is provided with a spacingnut B thereon between the plate B and the end of the tank and with a locknut B bearing upon the outer face of said plate. This construction and arrangement of stufiing-box provides an extended bearing for the shaft, which cannot be obtained upon the thin metal of the end wall of the tank, and also prevents the entrance of air to contaminateor affect the contents of the tank, while the securing parts are so disposed as not to catch and hold material used within the tank.

If desired, in order to further insure nonleakage at the bearing a tightlyfitting collar B is mounted upon the shaft C and abuts snugly against the inner end of the bearing B. A set-screw B.serves t0 secure the col lar in position upon the shaft.

The driving-shaft C is provided at one of its ends beyond the end walls A of the tank With a gear C, meshing with a gear C carried by a bracket or keeper C and provided with an operatinghandle C upon its shaft 0 This handle may be used when the machine.

is driven by hand, and if other driving mech anism be used a suitable connection there for Will be applied to this shaft 0 For the purpose of agitating the yeast orothermaterial within the tank the buckets D 'are mount ed upon arms D, extending in opposite di* rections from a hub D adapted to be disposed upon the shaft C and secured thereon by the setscrew D The opposite ends of these arms are formed into curved sockets D disposed in opposite directions to each Other, and within these sockets the curved bottoms D of the buckets are adapted to rest and be secured by soldering or otherwise. These arms are secured upon the drivingshaft substantially at a right angle to each other, so that the buckets in their passage through the material within the tank operate alternately, first at one side and then at the other, as the buckts only extend for a portion of the width of the tank and are not disposed in alinement with each other. The buckets are also strengthened and finished upon their exposed edges by means of a rod or wire D, extending around the same, over Whioh the edge of the bucket is turned, as at D and securely soldered, thus leavirig no space to catch and hold matter which could ferment or decom pose and rendering the parts easily cleansed.

Under many conditions of use it is neces sary to maintain the yeast at a predeter mined temperature and to revent a toc great rise in its temperature uring the mixing operation. For this purpose a cooling- IIO pipe E is disposed at the opposite sides of the tank beyond the path of travel of the buckets and forms a returncoil having a connecting pipe E at one side of the tank, so that continuous circulation of brine or other cooling medium may be maintained. The pipes E are curved in the arc of travel of the buckets and disposed adjacent thereto, so that the circulation established by the buckets removes sediment and adhering matter from the pipes and keeps them clean at all times. It is also important that the tank be sealed against the entrance of air during the mixing operation, and for that reason a plate F is se cured to the top of the tank and provided at its center with a suitable manhole F, having a coverplate F held in position by any pre ferred meansfor instance, the wingnuts F carried by the bolts F, which are pivotally mounted at their lower ends F so as to swing away from the slotted edges of the plate F and permit the free removal thereoi. This plate F is also provided with an inletvalve A communicating with a source of air-supply, preferably an air-filter, by which the necessary air may be introduced for the purpose of removing the contents of the tank after they are thoroughly mixed. This removal is efiected through a draw-ofl cock A at the bottom of the tank, which may also be used for draining purposes or other- Wise in the cleaning of the tank. The tank is preferably supported upon a yoke A, as

. shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, having depending legs A at its opposite ends.

This invention in its operation is especially adapted to produce themost desirable results in the mixture of yeast With the been Wort preparatory to its further use in the breWing operation, and it is essential that there should be a thorough mixture in order to secure the development of each of the yeast-cells in a proper body of liquid, so that When added to another body to be fermented the action of the yeast Will be uniform in time, strength, and character. A desirable manner of securing this result has heretofore been by mixing the yeast by hand and consisted in raising a proper quantity of the yeast and Wort to the height of a mans head and then pouring into another receptacle at his feet, thus passing the fluid body through an intervening air-space and by reason of the fall breaking up assembled cells so as to secure an independent development thereof. This operation required usually more than an hours time and very arduous labor, While the ultimate result Was not satisfactory, as the degree of fall varied during the operation and the mixture Was exposed to the contamination of the atmosphere and varying temperature thereof. The construction of the present device obviates all of these difficulties by providing for a regular fall, as the liquid Within the receptacle does not rise above the line of the drivingshaft and is carried upWard by the buckets so as to be discharged upon the upper surface of the liquid remain ing in the tank, this action being conducted within an air-tight chamber maintained at a proper temperature, so that the necessary thorough mixing and development of the yeast-cells can be secured in from fifteen t0 twenty minutes by continuous operation of the machine. Attention is also called to the arrangement of these buckets upon their arms, so that at no time is more than one bucket discharging, and that each bcket extends for only a portion of the length of the shaft. This is to effect a more extended discharge of the contents of the bucket upon the surface of the liquid beloW and a circulation in alternately opposite directions by removing diflerent portions of the surface thereof, Which cannot be effectually obtained when the bucket extends substantially the entire length of the drivingshaft. The arrangement of arms having the sockets disposed in opposite directions at their free ends in connection with the buckets to fit these arms provides a construction in Which the minimum resistance in operation is ofiered and no spaces are left to catch and hold fermentable or decomposing matter, thus rendering the cleansing of the machine both-eaey and convenient, as access is obtained through the manhole in the top thereof.

When the contents of the machine are to be discharged, filtered air under pressure is introduced through the valve upon the cover plate and forces the contents of the tank out through the draW-ofi cock in the bottom and thence through suitable connections to the desired tank or vat where it is to be used in the brewing operation.

The construction and arrangement of the p-ackingbox also provides for a practically air-tight connection at that point and one in Which the protuberances upon the interior of the tank are avoided.

While the invention has been described for use as a yeast-mixer, for Which it is particularly adapted, still the construction and arrangement may be conveniently used for mixing other materials.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a yeast-mixer, a tank, a shaft extending therethrough, radial arme extending from said shaft at difierent points longitudinally and at an angle to each other, each arm having oppositely-disposed buckets at its opposite ends.

2. In a yeast-mixer, a tank provided with a driving-shaft therein, arms upon said shaft provided With buckets, and a curved temper- IIO ature-regulating pipe disposed at one end of 3. In a yeast-mxer, a tank, a driving plate, and a draw-off connection at the bot- 10 shaft extending therethrough, a pluralioy of tom of said tank. 4 arms secured to said shafo at dfierent points In testimony whereof I afiix my signature longitudnally thereof and} extended in 1c;ppo in presence of two wtnesses. site directions at an ang 6 to each et ex, a plurality 0f oppositel-disposed buckets car- CONRAD DAUM' ried by the free ends of said arms to travel in Witnesses: parallel vertical planes, a coverplate for said WILLIAM W. GEIGER, tank, a valved air connection With said cover AUGUST KELLER. 

